Book Review: Drood

I just finished reading Drood by Dan Simmons. It was a great read. I could hardly put the book down and it is a big book — 784 pages! Don’t let that stop you from reading Drood though.

Dan Simmons takes the novel from Charles Dickens’ last, uncompleted novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. In the course of just barely escaping death in an train wreck, Dickens encounters a supernatural figure named Drood, who seems to have been traveling in a coffin.

The book is narrated by Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens’ friend, collaborator, and sometimes enemy. Wilkie Collins is an opium addict and a philander, which makes for some interesting reading. Charles Dickens, also a main character in the novel, is quite the egomaniac and interesting as well. Drood, while a character in the novel, is mysterious, but not the center of the story that you think.

I have to say that the novel begins interestingly and just as you think you have it, the novel will take a sudden turn. The end is no different and is certainly not what you expect after reading 700 or so pages.

I liked this novel a great deal and would recommend it for many of my readers. Keep in mind this is not chick lit though and if that is your preference — take a pass!